


Harry's Haven

by Corrupted Mind of Emmaline (animegrl421)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M, Mild Language, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-18
Updated: 2014-02-28
Packaged: 2018-01-05 02:38:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1088603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/animegrl421/pseuds/Corrupted%20Mind%20of%20Emmaline
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry is not your normal werewolf submissive, in fact he's quite angry about the usual outlook dominants have of submissives. He refuses to grow up in his so-called civilized pack and instead sets out on an adventure to find a pack pro-subs. </p><p>Warning: Severely old story and sporadic updates.<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Harry hated school. He liked learning, but he hated everything else about it. He hated the constant presence of idiotic; arrogant dominants. He hated lectures on how submissives would never be as important as the idiotic; arrogant dominants. He hated being called mental because he didn't want to be known as a meek submissive that will only be known for breeding and serving. He hated living in a world where his opinion and life was meaningless. And he hated that he had to go to the headmaster's office for telling his teacher all about what he hated and why he hated it.

Harry entered the headmaster's office, his anger receding a little in the man's domineering presence. "Harry, my boy, come in." Dumbledore gestured to a chair in front of his desk.

Harry stopped himself from rolling his eyes at the man, he was already in the office. Harry shut the door behind him and sat down in the chair Dumbledore gestured to. "Now, my dear boy, what is this I hear from your teacher, Professor Trelawney? You seem to have made her quite upset."

Harry sighed, "Must you ask when you already know the answer?"

Dumbledore's eyes lost some of their usual twinkle, "Again? Harry, surely you know by now that the law of our land is made for the individuals living in it? By the Dominant/Submissive Act of 567 AD, you were put here to help the dominants!"

Harry stopped himself from growling at the man, "And by that same law I am put into servitude forever, and will never hold any place above domestics in my life! I'm basically a slave! Why do I even have education if I'm never going to learn anything that will be of use to me? If I'm to grow up as just a child-bearing servant, then I don't need a mind! I'll be of more use to you if I was a mindless dolt!"

Dumbledore growled, and Harry immediately bared his neck, silencing his voice and thoughts at once. "You will go to your room, Harry. There you will think about what you have just said to me and about your life. For too long you've thought this way. At first I thought you were too young to recognize the balance of the world in which you live, but now you are seventeen an adult. You need to think about your future before you ruin it by your thoughts and voice. You will stay in your room until I am convinced you will listen to reason. Go, now."

Harry obeyed and walked out of the office and up the stairs to his dorm room. He paused at his door, regaining his senses. He knew he shouldn't have gone off on Dumbledore like that, but he couldn't control himself. The man had taken care of him since he was eight, when his parents were killed in the war with another werewolf pack. The school was what he had known since then, and Dumbledore had given him the opportunity to an education often denied to submissives. He should be thankful for such a gift, yet all he could do was hate. Harry sighed and entered his room. His dorm mate, another submissive by the name of Neville Longbottom, was sitting in his bed. Neville looked up at Harry as the boy entered, a look a relief covering his face, "Harry, thank goodness you're back! I thought for sure you'd be expelled this time!"

Harry gave his friend a sad smile and closed the door, "No, not this time apparently." Neville began his usual lecture about Harry's "antics" as he called them. Harry, however, wasn't listening. He had long ago tuned the boy out, already knowing the lecture by heart. Instead, Harry thought about what he needed to do now. He looked out the window at the forest below and decided. Tonight, he was leaving this place behind. He had never seen another werewolf pack before, but had learned of their supposedly "savage" ways. He wanted to learn first hand about their way of life, about how they survived. It wasn't going to be easy, but who said he wasn't looking for a challenge? He would look for a pack that didn't care that he was a submissive, he would look for a new home.

"Neville?" Harry questioned.

Neville stopped his rant, looking slightly annoyed that Harry obviously had tuned him out, "Yes?"

"I'm leaving."

Neville blinked at his blatant words, "What?"

"I said I'm leaving," Harry stated, grabbing his messenger bag and dumping out the school books inside it, grateful Neville had taken his bag to their room as he usually did for him.

"Why?" Neville asked, shocked at Harry's sudden revelation.

"Because I'm tired of being treated like I'm some loon." Harry said while packing some clothing into his bag.

Neville gaped at him, "But Harry, you aren't thinking! I mean, where will you go? Have you even thought about what you're going to do for food? Submissives aren't taught hunting, only cooking, and what good is that if you need to find food to kill first?"

Harry sighed, "It's not like it matters what I'll do, I'm sure I'll find something out there!" Harry zipped his bag, ready to go. He grabbed his cloak and made his way to the door.

"Wait!" Neville said in distress, "I'll go with you!"

Harry turned, now it was his turn to gape at his friend, "What?"

Neville blinked, realizing his own words. After a moment, Neville regained himself, "I-I said I'll go with you, if only to help you realize what a mistake you're making."

Harry smiled at his friend and waited for him as Neville got his bag ready. This was going to be an interesting adventure, Harry was sure of it. But before he went, he knew he had another challenge to face, telling Hermione and Ron that he planned on leaving the pack.


	2. Chapter 2

Neville stared in horror at Harry as said-boy knocked on Ron's door. "You know that Ron isn't going to be the only one there at this hour, don't you? You know what the punishment is if we get caught knocking on a dominant's door?"

Harry rolled his eyes at Neville, "We're leaving remember? Somehow I don't think they'll track us down just for knocking on Ron's door." Harry said as he knocked again.

Neville blushed and looked down at his feet in embarrassment. The door to the dorm opened and a teen with blinding red hair stared at the two submissives in shock. "Who is it, Ron?" someone from inside the room asked.

"Um, no one surprisingly. I think the others were tricking us again." Ron said.

"Ugh, just close the door then!" the voice said again.

"Um, sure, I'm just going to see if I can find whoever knocked and make sure they go to their dorms before its curfew." Ron replied. Curfew was five o' clock on schooldays since fights usually started on these nights otherwise. With homework pressure and the submissive out and about after class, the dominants usually took to teasing. Dumbledore made the rule so that fights would be stopped. This worked as on weekends the pack took to the nearby village and were separated.

Ron's dorm mate gave his okay and Ron went out into the hallway where Harry and Neville stood. Ron then gestured for them to follow him, and they obliged. Once downstairs in the common room, Harry explained to Ron what he planned while Neville refused to even look at the dominant. Ron took the news surprisingly well.

"Okay, but if we're leaving then we have to bring Hermione!" Ron said happily.

"Wait, we?" Harry questioned.

Ron rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I'm coming with you! I'm not about to let two submissives go out into the wilderness and kill themselves when I could have helped them!"

Harry blinked at him, "Ron, you know that once we get out of here then Dumbledore won't let us back in?"

Ron nodded, his face stoic, "Yeah, and I'm sure you realize by now that I don't want to be here any longer."

Harry smiled at that. He knew how Ron hated the Dominant/Submissive Act just the same as he did. Ron used to like the act, and had always gone after Harry and teased the boy. However, all that teasing became congratulating after Ron's sister came to school. Ginny, Ron's little sister, had been a very happy girl until the dominants started teasing her. Ginny eventually hated school and went back home to be home-schooled and Ron had never forgiven the others for treating his sister so badly. So, Harry and Ron became friends in private while staying enemies in public.

"Okay, then, I'll get her since everyone up there knows me best." Harry replied, heading up to the girl submissive dorm rooms. After half an hour of waiting Neville and Ron were getting worried.

"What do you think is taking so long?" Ron asked Neville. Neville blushed and looked down at his feet, clearly embarrassed that a dominant had spoken to him.

"I-I…" Neville began nervously.

Ron rolled his eyes, "Neville, you know that you don't have to be nervous around me, right?"

Neville nodded but his face still showed signs of panic for not answering straight away. Before he could say anymore however, Harry ran down the stairs, a very flustered Hermione right behind him. If Ron didn't know Harry as well as he did, he would have assumed that Harry and Hermione had tried something. But even if he didn't know Harry, he knew that submissives didn't "do" anything together.

"Um, what exactly…" Ron began awkwardly.

Hermione shook her head, "Don't worry about it, just go!" Hermione ushered. On her back was a schoolbag that was bulging with the items it carried.

Ron shook his head at the sight. "Hermione, let me carry your bag." he demanded.

Hermione glared at him, "I can carry my own bag perfectly fine on my own, thank you!"

Harry, seeing the upcoming fight, addressed them immediately. "Hermione, Ron, stop it. I don't care who carries what, but we really need to go now." he said seriously.

Hermione nodded and began to leave the common room when she paused. "Wait, Ron, what about your belongings?" she asked.

Ron shook his head, "I don't need anymore clothes as far as I'm concerned as I have my cloak and my tools are always with me."

Hermione looked like she was about to lecture him but decided against it as this was Ron she was about to lecture. She led the others out of the room. The four made their way out of the building, being as stealthy as possible. Once outside in front of the forest, they all paused and took one last look at the building they had known as a big part of their life.


	3. Chapter 3

"Honestly Ronald, it's no big deal!" Hermione huffed. She stopped walking and crossed her arms across her chest. "I'm tired of you wondering about it, do you really think Harry and I would do something together?"

Harry stopped walking when she said this and turned back to her and Ron. Neville, who was beside him at the time, got behind him quickly as if to shield himself from the upcoming fight. Sighing, Harry ran a hand through his hair. He half-listened to Ron's debates as he watched the sunrise. They had been walking throughout the entire night, too scared to stop in case of threats, and hadn't eaten yet either. Rubbing a hand over his stomach, he willed it to stop aching.

"H-Harry, isn't there a way to get them to stop fighting?" Neville asked from behind him.

Harry growled, annoyed with everyone at the moment, too tired and hungry for pleasantries. He felt Neville's hand on his shoulder and calmed himself. "Ron, Hermione, will you stop arguing all the time? It's only been a day since we left, and my ears feel like they're about to fall off!" he stated. He winced at the look of anger on Hermione's face directed toward him.

"I'd stop if he would just let the MINOR issue drop!" she stated, emphasizing the word "minor."

"And I'd let the issue drop if she'd just tell me what happened! If it's so MINOR then why don't you guys just tell me? Did something happen between you two?" Ron asked, his eyes turning amber in anger at the thought.

Harry rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to calm his senses. "Ron, nothing really happened, okay? Hermione and I ran into Pansy on the way down-"

"Pansy?" Ron interrupted, running the name through his mind. "Oh, you mean the girl who's always bothering subs 'cause she thinks she's better than them? I thought she was in the dungeon dorms?"

Harry nodded, ignoring the frustrated look Hermione sent his way. The girl wasn't having it, "Really, Harry? Why must you always give in to his overly-exaggerated nagging?"

"'Overly-exaggerated?'" Ron repeated, "I'm not the one who's hiding-."

With a groan of frustration, Harry interrupted Ron, his instincts to give in to the dominant's pleas leading him on to telling just what had occurred. He could only hope the reason his submissive instincts were making him do this was because of his tiredness and that this wouldn't become a daily occurrence.

Not wanting Hermione to know how much his submissive side ruled his mind at the moment, he knew he needed to come up with a logical reason to tell Ron about the issue. This sounded easier than it was as the logical part of Harry's brain felt fogged from the sleepless night.

"If it's not important, then why should we care to tell him? Teasing him of his ignorance only gets so far before we're making the issue bigger than what it should be!" he declared angrily. "And, yes Ron, you're right. Though, we all know she was in the tower dorms to sleep with a random sub. We all know she can't stand a day without getting any. She saw us leaving and started interrogating us. So, I stood up against her, and she threatened us, so Hermione punched her, then we ran like Hell."

Silence, then, Ron gaped. "Wait, Hermione…hit a dominant?"

Hermione smiled with the memory, still mad at Harry for telling but grateful for the reprieve from Ron's questions all the same. "It felt amazing too!"

Harry grinned as well as Neville made a lovely impression of Ron's face at the moment. "W-what?" Neville asked, his body still at the thought. "B-but, that's against the rules, and dangerous, and-"

"You _hit_ a DOMINANT?" Ron interrupted again.

Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron as Harry tried to calm Neville. "It's not like she was a tough one or anything, besides, she deserved it with her constant superiority complex!"

Harry turned to Neville and felt his anger shifting. He couldn't stay mad with someone so innocent around. The boy wasn't used to fighting as much as the rest of their group, and his self-esteem was severely lacking thanks to his home and school life. He touched the boy's shoulder in a gesture of comfort, mentally blocking Ron and Hermione's new argument with well-practiced ease. "C'mon, Nev, she did deserve it." Neville nodded, his mouth still gaping open. "Don't wanna catch flies, do you?" The other looked up at him with surprised eyes before nodding and closing his mouth.

"Sorry, Harry, I just…"

Harry nodded in understanding, "Yeah, I know, it was pretty shocking… You should've been there!" he added happily.

Neville laughed, "I think I would've fainted."

Harry gave him a smile in return before shifting to a more serious issue, "Look, from now on things are gonna be different, might as well get used to the idea early, right? Who knows what goes on out here? For all we know, we'll fight off many dominants."

Neville looked terrified at the thought, but soon gathered his composure, "Yeah, I g-guess you're right, Harry. I need to t-toughen up, yeah?"

Harry shook his head, "Not really, you're plenty tough."Neville chuckled humorlessly, "Right…"

"You just need confidence is all. Years of living in that stupid school with those rules and those idiot dominants didn't really help any of us in the confidence area." Harry supplied.

Neville gave him a doubtful look, "You guys are the most outgoing subs I know…"

Harry squeezed the other's shoulder, "We're not that outgoing, we just don't show how scared we are inside, it's different."

Before Harry and Neville could continue their conversation, a loud scream echoed around them. Neville started as Ron and Hermione both stopped their bickering over the dominant-hitting issue at once. Tense, the four runaways listened closely to the woods around them. After a few minutes of silence, Harry spoke, "They need help." he declared, sounding braver than he felt.

"Are you crazy?" Ron asked, his voice strained, "Did you not just hear that?"

"What else are we to do, stay here and wait 'til whatever caused the scream comes for us first?" Harry asked sarcastically.

"I-I think we should stay here," Neville began, looking to the ground when the others turned to him. "We're just four students…" he finished.

Hermione nodded in agreement, "I'm with Neville," she proclaimed, "besides, we didn't get a good sense of where the voice came from and to leave this place now would be almost suicidal."

"I think so too." Ron said after a minute of tense silence.

Harry looked back into the forest they were about to enter, and felt himself nod, albeit reluctantly. "I hope they're okay," he murmured.

He felt Hermione's hand grasp his, "Who knows, they could be the enemy." she said in hopes to calm his nerves.

"And who's the enemy exactly?" he asked quietly.

"Other packs," Neville answered the rhetorical question. "And hunters..."

Hermione turned still at the thought, while Ron smiled as if the word "hunters" was a joke, "Really, you've been reading too much fiction, Nev."

Neville, surprisingly, narrowed his eyes at the dominant, "They're real." he stated, before looking down at the ground in stunned silence when he realized he had just challenged a dominant.

"I believe they are too," Hermione agreed. "Otherwise why would all of those people in the war have died?"

Ron looked to Harry for help, but the raven-haired teen just shook his head, "I agree with them." he stated matter-of-factly.

"Look," Ron began, ignoring the annoyed looks on the others' faces. "I'm not saying they weren't real at one point, I'm just saying they're not now!"

Neville looked like he was about to respond, but when he looked into Ron's eyes, he immediately backed away from the redhead teen and grasped Harry's arm. "Fine," Ron said, "believe what you want."

Harry looked at the risen sun and made a quick decision. "Let's get some sleep, guys."

Hermione nodded, "I'll get some food out so we can eat first."

They found a small clearing only a few feet from where they were standing. The surrounding trees gave a sense of comfort as well as a sense of foreboding. Each made themselves a bed of leaves as they got ready for a short slumber. Harry set his makeshift bed between Neville and Ron's. As the three boys sat down on the leaves, Hermione gave each person a ration from her bag.

"What's this?" Ron asked, looking at his piece of bread in disgust. "Where's the rest of it?"

Hermione glared, "We need to save the food, not eat all of it in one night! Besides, if you wanted more you should have packed some food for yourself!"

"B-but…What about meat? If I don't have meat I'll die…" he began, then, after seeing Hermione's eye roll, he added, "I swear I will, Hermione!"

"We don't have any!" she replied heatedly.

Ron paled, "What?"

"I only packed what I had near me, and I don't keep random stashes of meat in my room!" Hermione stated.

Ron shook his head and looked at his ration with wide eyes, "No meat…" he repeated.

"Yes, and you could have packed some if you had wanted some! You had more than enough time to go to the kitchens…"

Harry looked down and grinned despite himself as Hermione ranted about not eating all the food she packed at once and about proper packing of food. He took his own bread ate it slowly, savoring the food for all it was worth, Neville did the same beside him.

He stood from his seat, effectively silencing the argument. "Hey, as much as I hate to put an end to this happy dinner experience, can we please get some sleep?"

"But, Harry, look at what she's given me!" Ron pleaded while pointing at his food, flinching at Hermione's heated expression.

Harry gave a serious expression then, "Look, the only reason everyone's arguing anyway is 'cause we're all tired. We need rest, and the sooner we get it the better off we'll be for tomorrow's journey."

"Fine," Hermione said, "but we'll need a watch. And since we won't be sleeping but a few hours, I say each watch needs to last at most two hours each."

Harry nodded, "I'll go first, you guys get some sleep."

"No, Harry, you go first, as the only dominant-"

Harry silenced the redhead with a look, "Exactly why you should be the last person woken. Because, as much as I _hate_ to say it, you're the only one who knows how to hunt and the like so you'll need to be the most-alert in case of a threat."

Ron didn't argue the logic, instead choosing to gulp down his bread hurriedly. Hermione did the same before she took off her wristwatch and handed it to Harry. The group settled in for the night, and Harry stayed awake with the watch in one hand, tiredly awaiting his time to sleep while opening his senses as best he could.

-o-

Albus Dumbledore paced his office, his heart beating wildly against his chest, proving only to add to his rage. He made his feet pause their pacing, and focused only on his breathing. His hand reached into his pocket to pull out some of his favorite treats. Forcing himself to remain calm despite his boiling anger, he ate the handful of lemon drops in one go. He prided himself on always keeping his composure, yet when this unexpected news came, he couldn't help but feel shaken.

He could still barely understand the news. Four students had left the school in spite of the numerous outside threats. Not only had they left, but they would be noticed by others as missing. There wasn't a cover Dumbledore could give as the four were so different. They wouldn't be on a trip or even with the same illness as they hardly were seen together.

The students were well-known in the school. One of the students was Neville Longbottom, the ideal submissive. Meek, he shied away from the dominants, and even other submissives. The boy knew his place, and was exceptional at his work in class. This was the one Albus was most confused about running away. The boy wouldn't have done this alone, that was for sure. He had to of been either kidnapped, which was doubtful, or was persuaded to leave.

Besides Neville, Hermione Granger was reported missing as well. The most intelligent submissive, surpassing even the dominants in all her classes but sports. She was outwardly against the submissive/dominant ideas set by the laws. She supported her arguments for submissive rights with logic that made even her professors look twice at the laws. Yet, she was the first to stand down when placed in a situation where her teachers would disprove of her voice. She yearned for learning, and was scared of disobeying her professors, so why did she leave her school? Someone had to of given her reason enough to leave. Or perhaps it was teenage rebellion?

Then there was Ronald Weasley, the only dominant in their group. He had various siblings, and although his sister's status as a submissive, was known to stand for dominant rights. Could Albus have misjudged the teen? Brash; boyish, Ron made for an ideal dominant. With this seemingly random act of leaving the school, the teen had thrown Albus for a complete loop. There was always the probability the boy had ran after the other three to bring them back to the school, but surely he would have shown up by now? And why wouldn't he have told a teacher first?

Then, there was the fourth run away, the one Albus berated himself for not guarding better. He should have known Harry Potter would leave the school. Albus growled lowly, his mind taking a turn for the worse. After years of trying to perfect the boy, his wishes for the future slipped through his fingers. He had kidded himself for thinking the boy would ever show respect for the dominants. He would never know how Harry, after years under his guidance, became such a dominant-acting submissive. The eight years he had spent with Lily before her death proved more than enough to bring out Lily's own attitude about the dominant and submissive laws in Harry.

Had Harry been a dominant, would he have turned out better? Albus shook his head, now wasn't the time for what-ifs. He needed answers now. Where did the group go? What would need to be done as punishment when they were found? And, most importantly, would he do about Tom? The man needed to stay uninformed about Harry's leave, but with spies hiding within the school, Albus doubted the man wouldn't know about the teen's absence already.

He needed a search party, a fast one at that. To find Harry before Tom did. Before it was too late.

-o-

Harry woke to a hand shaking him awake. Opening his eyes tiredly, he saw an equally-tired Ron shaking his shoulder to wake him. He groaned in response, "'m awake…"

Ron gave a half-smile before rubbing his own eyes, "Time to wake, gotta day of travel to do."

Behind the redhead, Hermione was finishing covering the fire. "Everyone ready then?" she asked, too well-rested to Harry.

Harry yawned and struggled to get up from the forest floor, his body aching not only from yesterday's running, but from the sudden shift of a fluffy mattress to the hard ground. His lungs, on the other hand, had never felt so refreshed. The outside air making his insides feel more alive than they had in years. Living inside a castle made the air stuffy and different from the natural air.

Hermione nudged his body with a foot, waking him from a sleep he hadn't known he had been entering. "C'mon, Harry, we need to go!" she urged.

Harry growled, "How're you so… peppy?" he asked, determining the right word for the girl's attitude.

Hermione forcibly lifted him up by his arm. "Ow!" Harry said to which Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Come on drama queen, I'm ready to go!"

Harry stretched, standing now. Then, he remembered, "Oh yeah, the full moon's soon, right?"

Hermione nodded happily. "Yep!"

Harry blinked at her, "Which means you'll be gradually getting more and more weird?"

Hermione raised her eyebrow, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing!" he said quickly, raising his arms in self-defense.

Hermione gave him an irritated look before leading the group into the surrounding forest. Ron nudged his side. "Reckon she'll be especially moody today?"

Harry nodded, "It is around that time…" he added.

Hermione turned and glared at the two, growling under her breath. "Why are you two always out to ruin my good moods?" she asked irritably. "What were you saying anyway?"

Neville grabbed Harry's arm as protection. Not that Harry would be able to do much against Hermione. "Nothing!" he said for the second time that day, once again throwing his hands up in defense. Her eyebrow twitched, but otherwise she backed down from the fight.

After another hour of tense walking, Hermione suddenly stopped, causing an oblivious Ron to bump into her back. Before she could fall to the ground from the hit, Ron caught her. "Sorry…" he mumbled, his face reddening.

Hermione held up a finger as he let go of her. "Shh…" she whispered, motioning for them to listen. Harry opened his senses as far as they could go, about to tell Hermione she must've heard one of them break a twig or something when he heard the distinct sound of footsteps heading toward them from their left.

Ron jolted into a defensive stance, each of his hands pulling a small dagger from his belt. He stood in front of the submissives, ready to attack. Harry grimaced at the thought of a fight, wasn't this what he wanted? His body still, he nearly jumped when Hermione placed her hand in his. For a second, he thought she needed comfort, but when she let go, he found a knife of his own in his hand. He would have given her a grateful smile if he wasn't so scared.

Then, the footsteps paused. Harry clenched his hand around his weapon, his heart pounding in his ears. His body demanding him to stand down from the fight. Taking a deep, shattering breath, he forcibly stilled his shaking hands.

Then, from out of the wood, a girl appeared. She looked at the group with large, round; bright eyes that gave her a surprised look, eyes that Harry thought could see right through him. Over the eyes were pale eyebrows that stood out over the dirt on her face. "Hello," she said casually, almost as if she found them as no threat to her. In spite of her confident tone, from head to toe she looked as if she had been through Hell and back. She wore only a small white dress which was holey and had singes on the bottom. Spots of dirt covered her body, letting only small parts of her fair white skin show through. Her dirty-blonde waist length hair was a web of tangles.

Looking at her small figure, Harry found she looked…odd in the best terms. There was an aura around the girl that was as comforting as it was hazy and dream-like. Harry stared into her silvery-grey eyes, and found that she didn't take the look as challenging in the least. Instead, she chose to smile at him instead of fight.

_Maybe she's not a werewolf?_ Harry thought, trying to determine the girl's weirdness, despite his heart being set on her being just that. Harry breathed in, smelling her air only to find she was a werewolf as well, a dominant despite her lithe form. Her air also held another hint of her being, but he had never smelt it before, and as such he couldn't place it.

"H-hi…" he replied curiously, his head tilted slightly as he tried to figure out why she was there alone and whether she was a threat or not. With another sniff to the air, his body stiffened. There was a distinct smell of blood in the air, drifting from the girl.

Ron growled and, unlike the growls from prior fights with the group as they were walking, this one was louder and more threatening. Almost as if the others were just playful and mocking in a way. His now fully-amber eyes watched the girl predatorily. "What do you want?" he asked lowly, a threat lingering in his throat.

She lifted her hands slowly, as if to show them she meant no harm. "I'm sorry," she began, "for intruding on your travels but I seem to be lost." She looked around her surroundings with glazed-over eyes. "Well, not lost, I just don't seem know where I am." she continued slowly as if the news was new to her. Harry would have snorted if he wasn't so shocked.

Meanwhile, Hermione looked the girl over, then gasped, "Your head!"

The girl blinked, "Yes?" she asked.

Harry looked at the girl's head closely, then saw it, nearing the back where the spot was mostly hidden from the group, he could see blood. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Oh, yes, quite." the girl said. "Just dizzy is all, but I suspect it's the wrackspurts' doing."

Harry stepped forward, wanting to see the wound that caused the blood, only to be pushed back by one of Ron's outstretched arms. "Don't move." he ordered.

The girl tilted her head to the side as Neville's face paled, "You-you're wounded." he stated nervously.

The girl nodded, "Though, not as badly as my friend." she replied.

"Your friend?" Hermione questioned.

"Oh, yes, he's back there," she pointed a still-lifted finger towards where she had just come from. "I'm afraid I'm not strong enough to lift him without hurting him more than he already is."

"Is-is that why you're here?" Neville asked.

She nodded shortly, "Yes."

"Where is your pack?" Ron asked.

She looked up towards a treetop to her side, "The nargles are near." she said mistily. "I wonder if they know we're here."

Ron growled again, this one less threatening. His mind confused, he gave her a glare. "I didn't ask about some stupid made-up creature…"

She snapped her head back to Ron in a second, making the redhead start. "They are here. Perhaps leaving would be best?"

"Listen, I don't know who you are or where your pack is-"

"My pack?" the blonde asked, "Oh… I don't know. I seem to have misplaced my thoughts…"

Before Ron could go off on a rant, Harry replied to her, "You mean, you don't remember anything?" he asked.

The girl gave him a genuine smile, "I'm sure I will in time, when I find my memories again. But for now I've been given a reprieve from them it seems."

Hermione gave a huff, "Are you certain?"

The girl looked confused yet knowing at the same time, "Yes, I believe so."

Before a reply could be made, the sound of running feet on the forest ground could be heard from the opposite direction the girl had come from. "Shall we go now? Before they come to steal?" the blonde asked.

Ron stiffened, his mind in a cloud. He looked to their small group with a questioning look, silently begging for their input. "Take us to your friend." Harry stated.

With another grin, the girl turned swiftly and led them on her tip-toes into the forest she had just came from. "How do you know it's not a trap?" Ron seethed.

Harry shrugged in return, running after the ditzy girl. "We only had a couple choices Ron, what else should we do?"

Ron looked about to say something, but Hermione cut-in, "If her pack wanted to attack they had plenty opportunity to, they would have beaten us easily with surprise. Now, can we please stop talking and start running?" she asked with a frustrated tone.

The group quickly sprinted after the surprisingly-fast girl, Harry taking the lead as the fastest, Hermione last. The blonde led them to a place where they could barely see past the trees, plants and vines growing taller and longer respectively. It grew harder to run as they tumbled through the forest. The girl had no problem though, easily moving through the bramble and such with a smile. Even if her feet touched a particular rough area, she just kept going without complaint.

"It's just through here," she declared, moving a few vines to uncover a clearing. The four gathered inside the domelike clearing with the girl following behind. The chasers that had followed them grew louder, and the group of five held their breath as they passed, not even testing the vines for people.

When their predators were out of hearing distance, the group let out a breath. "H-hunters…" Neville said, speaking about who the chasers were.

Harry nodded and spoke before Ron could give in his doubts, "How else did they not smell us out?"

Hermione agreed with a nod of her own, "And they didn't smell like wolves."

Ron chewed on his bottom lip, "You're right…" he admitted. "They weren't weres at all…"

The blonde coughed, making the four others stare at her in surprise. "Sorry," she said, her voice strained. "My friend is over there." she said, pointing to the other side of the dome, where a pile of leaves stood. "I covered him just in case as he couldn't be moved and couldn't move himself."

Before the others could move, Ron held out an arm, effectively going into dominant-mode once more. He shifted his gaze from the pile of leaves to the girl, going back and forth between the two repeatedly as he made his way in front of the leaves. Sniffing, he stiffened. "There's a guy here, but he's unconscious," he said, shifting the leaves over to one side. Beneath them, Harry could make out platinum blond hair and fair skin.

Harry found himself helping Ron clear the leaves from the body. When they were done, Harry tried to flip the boy onto his back, but Ron took his wrist with a hand, and pushed it back. "Don't touch him." he demanded. Harry narrowed his eyes, growing wary of Ron's instincts.

"I'm only going to turn him over…" Harry said, shifting under Ron's amber gaze.

"Just let him follow his instincts for now, Harry," Hermione said from behind him.

Harry looked up, meeting her gaze from where he sat, "But-"

"He's scared," she whispered into his ear. "Just let him have reassurance that we're all safe and he'll be fine."

Harry nodded, gently removing his hand from Ron's grip before backing away from the body. Ron looked the boy over with narrowed eyes, "He's a submissive." he stated. "What happened to him?"

The blonde walked over, stepping to the other side of the body. "I can't seem to remember."

Ron made a noise in the back of his throat, "What do you remember then?"

The girl looked thoughtful for a moment, "It's like a dream… I woke up only I wasn't waking for I was already awake. I was there and that's all, next to this boy on the ground. I checked the boy and found he couldn't answer. Then I left, I was walking through the wood when I heard your pack. I needed help so I asked you."

"That's all you know then?" Ron checked.

The girl nodded, "I can't seem to place my title either… I know it was something about the moon…"

Ron groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "How do we know you're not lying."

"You don't." the girl replied. "But I'd like it if you believed me."

After a moment of silence, Ron's eyes dimmed from the amber to their normal blue. "What about the naglers or whatever?"

The girl tilted her head in wonder, then her eyes lit up, "Oh, you mean the nargles! Yes, they hide in various places, stealing your things."

"What?" Ron asked, his expression clearly confused. "And what about the other things?"

"Wrackspurts?" the girl asked. Ron nodded, "They confuse you and make you dizzy, and lightheaded…"

Ron started when Hermione touched his shoulder, "She's clearly been hit pretty hard," she said, "Maybe she's making these creatures up in place of her memories."

The girl gave a harsh look to Hermione, "They're real." she stated matter-of-factly. Hermione rolled her eyes, but said nothing else.

Ron stared at the girl, then to the boy. "What should we do?" he asked.

Harry shrugged, "What did you want us to do for you?" he asked the blonde.

"Help is all I ask. At least until he heals, then I'll leave you alone."

Hermione gave a pained look, "But what can we do?" she asked.

"You are the only hope I have at the moment, since I haven't a clue where I'm to be or to do. I only ask you to help him." the girl replied. "Perhaps find out where others are."

Harry sighed, "Okay," he said, earning himself a glare from Ron and Hermione both. "What?" he asked them.

Hermione grabbed his arm and pulled him toward where a contemplative Neville sat on the ground. "What are you thinking?" she asked.

"I want to help her!" he defended, rubbing his shoulder and ignoring her 'quit acting like it hurt when it obviously didn't' look.

"But, Harry, what're we supposed to do?" Ron asked, joining them, while watching the girl closely.

Harry shrugged, "Let's just take them with us, if anything it'll help us too. We'll have a girl who, once she has her memory back, can tell us about her pack and about the lifestyle out here in general."

Hermione sighed, "But that's just it, Harry, how do we know she's safe? For all we know she's leading us to our deaths, or once she gets her memory back she'll kill us or-"

"I agree with Harry." Neville declared, standing from his spot and taking his place beside Harry. "I have a good feeling about her." he said to Hermione, avoiding Ron's eyes.

"Oh, that's good, then!" Ron said sarcastically, throwing his hands up in the air, his daggers now returned to his belt. "Now when anything happens to us, I'll remember to ask you about how you FEEL about the situation! 'We're about to be eaten, oh no! Wait, maybe Neville has a good feeling about it, maybe we shouldn't fight back!'" he snapped, sarcasm lacing his voice.

Neville narrowed his eyes at the ground but said nothing, choosing instead to lean toward Harry. Said-boy ran a hand through his hair. "I want to stay with her too, I have a good _feeling_ as well." he said, his tone asking Ron to try to mock his intuition.

"Fine," Ron said, "but when we're dead, I'll know who to thank." he said, turning on his heel and stalking to the corner with the unconscious boy once more.

Harry winced mentally at how angry Ron was, but he couldn't bring himself to go over to the boy. He looked to Hermione, who just crossed her arms and walked to the boy where Ron was. He saw her contemplating where the boy was hurt without touching him, as Ron's gaze was fixated directly on her movements.

Meanwhile the odd girl stared at Harry with fogged eyes. Expressionless, the blonde continued to stare, and even though Harry knew he should be at the very least freaked out, the boy found didn't mind at all. He continued to examine the girl from the corner of his eye while Neville regarded her with wide eyes.

They stayed in the clearing for awhile, each person with a different thought on their minds, except the girl, whose blank gaze made Harry assume she was going through a meditation of sorts. "Harry?"

Harry turned to Neville, "Yeah?"

"What do you suppose we're to do with the boy?" he asked.

Harry looked at his fingers, "Maybe we should carry him?"

"Where though?" Neville asked.

Harry shrugged, "Well, I guess we're just going to continue our journey through the wood until we find something or someone. I mean, we are still on the run from the school searches, and we need to find her pack." he suggested, not needing to point to the silent girl in the corner for Neville to know of whom he spoke. His mind ran through the various options they had, trying to find one they should follow now that they had two more added to their makeshift "pack."

Neville nodded, "What do you suppose we'll find out here?"

Harry thumped his head on the bark of the tree behind him, "I dunno, but I really hope it's better out here than it was at the school."

Night came sooner than they expected, Harry leading the watch as they decided to get more sleep whilst they thought on their next move. A fire was created to keep warm by as the night air cooled considerably more than it had before on their journey, the dome they currently occupied seeming to hold cold air in. Harry stood from his spot on his makeshift-leaf bedding and walked over to the boy he hadn't been able to see before thanks to Ron's ever-watchful eyes.

He sat next to the body, his hands moving on their own accord to touch the skin. He was alive, Harry noted from the pulse beneath his fingertips, but he was extremely cold. With nothing but a shabby; worn pair of boxers on, the boy looked more frail than Harry first thought. His hair was platinum blond and his skin a fair; pale white to match. Goosebumps littered his skin, and there were multiple scars on his back, dried blood coating most. Deciding to clean the wounds first, Harry grasped his messenger bag in one hand and dug through it to find a bottle of water inside. Tearing off his already-worn sleeve, his dampened it with water from the bottle and gently began dabbing the boy's wounds.

"It's horrible, isn't it?" Harry heard behind him. Looking, he saw the blonde girl.

He made a sound of agreement, continuing to dab at the blood, "Are you sure you can't remember anything? Not even him?"

The girl nodded, "Yes, but not from lack of trying. I've looked, but I can't seem to find my mind. Perhaps the nargles took it with them." She looked dazed for a moment, "But it's no matter, it'll come back to me I'm sure, just as everything does in the end."

"I'm sure it will," Harry agreed.

"Do you believe me?" she asked quietly.

Harry shrugged, "I don't really know." he said truthfully. "But I suppose not believing you will only lead to more confusion than there already is."

Then, after a moment of silence, "Is it the easiest way to cope?" she asked, surprising Harry.

The boy paused in cleaning the wounds on the blond boy and turned to the girl with furrowed eyebrows. "What?"

She made a slight humming noise, "No matter..." With a confused look at the mysterious girl, Harry finished his cleaning and took off his cloak. Covering the boy with it, he pondered what the blonde had told him. Then, she spoke once more, "Be wary, Harry Potter, the heliopath is on its way, and it burns everything, even what is hidden. Perhaps the time for revelation is near…" With that said, she hummed.

Harry gave her a surprised look, to which she gave a small smile. She stood, brushed her knees off, and left Harry to his thoughts. He heard her gave a sigh of contentment as she settled down on the ground, having refused to sleep in leaves. It wasn't until he woke Neville for his guard and was almost asleep when he realized that he hadn't told her his name, at least, no one he knew of used his last name for her to know of it. Too tired to think anymore, he slept.


	4. Chapter 4

Harry’s Haven

Chapter Four:  A Howl to Remember

Harry woke from Neville’s gentle shaking of his shoulder.  “Hmm…”  he said, his mind foggy still from his slumber. 

“Harry, it’s time to wake up, we need to make a decision.”  Neville told him, pushing his shoulder back.

Yawning, Harry gave into Neville’s ministrations.  “Awake…”  Harry declared, stretching upward as he moved to a sitting position. Next, he yawned again, shaking his head like a dog to rid his hair of leaves. 

“Well?”  he heard Hermione ask in an amused tone.

“Well what?”  he replied tiredly, rubbing an eye with the back of his hand.

“What’s the next plan of action, cap’n?”  Ron asked, tone light.

“Who made me the captain?”  Harry questioned curiously.

“While you were still getting prodded awake-we did.”  Hermione replied, pulling him up by his arm.

“Ow!”  he said, rubbing said-arm as the woman let go.

“Stop being such a drama queen!”  Hermione said, hands on hips.

Harry blinked at her, “Déjà vu…”

Hermione tilted her head at him, “Wouldn’t have to repeat it if you’d just get awake and get up without my making you…” she mumbled more to herself than to Harry.

Harry stretched again, looking to the still figure of the pale boy, his cloak still enveloping the blonde's body. “So, any ideas?” 

“Not like we know where the kid's pack is." Ron commented, waving off Hermione's roll of eyes and indignant response to his words. 

Hermione huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Honestly, Ronald, he's our age!" Reluctantly looking away from the redhead's wave of hand in her direction, she switched her thoughts to that of Harry's question. "I think we should find a river or a creak or something first and foremost, since we all really need to wash.”  Hermione said, wrinkling her nose.  “You men especially.” 

Ron looked offended while Neville blushed and Harry smiled.  “Ah, the sweet essence of man!”  he said, breathing in deeply, then coughing at the smell.  “Yeah, I take that back, nothing sweet ‘bout that.”

Hermione shook her head and laughed, “I vote we carry the boy with us.”

Harry quirked an eyebrow at that, “How do we know he’s okay for travel?”

Hermione already had that covered apparently, “In any case, we can‘t stay here.  It‘s not safe at all and we need food soon.  Ron’s big enough to carry him safely.  Or without much jostling at least.”  she said offhandedly.

Ron gaped, “What?”

Harry nodded, “Yep, that should work, great of you to volunteer for us!”  he said, slapping Ron on the back. 

Neville laughed while Ron gaped.  “What?”  the redhead asked again, realizing belatedly that no one was listening as the others began talking about the blonde girl who still slept.

-o- 

Ron grunted as he shifted the weight of the blond boy on his back.  The boy’s head slumped over onto Ron’s shoulder, making Ron grunt again in displeasure.  “Why am I the carrier again?”  he whined.

Harry rolled his eyes before looking back at the boy giving a piggy back ride to the blond.  The boy on his back seemed comfortable given the state he was in but Ron… Ron didn’t seem one bit happy about it at all. 

Hermione spoke next,  looking back as well at the redhead.  “Honestly Ronald, would you rather I carry him?” 

The redhead’s eyebrows shot upwards at that. And with a puff of his chest, Ron shook his head minutely. "No." he said immediately after. 

"Are you certain?" she added. "Because I'd be sure to do so with less to say about it." 

Ron gaped for a moment, only to shake his head as his cheeks reddened. "Well, you try carrying thirteen stone on your back while walking and see how you like it!" he growled in response. 

Harry looked back at him at that, "Thirteen?" he asked, his doubt filling his tone.

"What?" Ron questioned, expression daring the others to oppose.

"Come on, Ron, even you have to admit that's a bit much for someone his size." Hermione insisted. 

Harry and her shared a look for a moment, something not missed by Ron. The redhead looked away from them both, pushing forward to the front of their group. As he walked passed, Harry couldn't help but overhear him grumbling to himself, "Feels like thirteen stone. Hell, probably more than that..." 

He shrugged at Hermione, who shook her head in turn. When Ron was far enough away, Hermione walked closer to him while Neville took a position behind them, no doubt not wanting to get hit with any of the anger radiating off Ron. "Figure he'll stop complaining now?" Harry asked her in a hushed tone.

"I think he's too busy liking the sound of his own voice, honestly." Hermione responded in a voice just as low. 

Neville snorted behind them, causing Ron to turn to them. Not seeing the culprit, he continued onward, trying and failing to keep a straightened; proud posture. Harry just smiled at his back before looking back to Hermione. "You know how to find a river somewhere around here right?" 

  
Hermione gave him an exasperated look at that to which Harry just shrugged. Sighing she nodded, "Of  _course_ I know where to find one Harry. We covered it in class, after all."    


To that Harry looked away from the girl. "Harry, don't tell me you don't remember?" After a pause in which Harry said nothing, Hermione continued, "Honestly, Harry, you wouldn't last out here alone. Why am I unsurprised that you didn't think this entire thing through?" 

Harry was saved from a full-fledged rant by none other than the blond girl following behind them silently. "There's a river just up ahead." she said suddenly, interrupting their impending argument. 

Harry gave her a curious look, "Not that I'm disagreeing or anything but...How'd you know that?" 

She tilted her head at him, "Can't you hear it?"

Harry paused mid-step at that, looking back at her more fully now. In the corner of his eye, he could see Hermione following his lead. Lifting his head to the sky, he tried to listen as hard as he could for the sounds of rushing water. Instead,  he could only hear the sounds their group made. The footsteps, crunching of odd twigs, leaves swaying in the wind, even a few odd small animals. But no water. He shook his head then, "You can then?" 

"Of course." she replied easily. 

He looked to Hermione, not having to ask her if she'd heard the water herself before she shook her head as a negative response. Through a glance to her eyes before she began walking anew, he could see the gears of her over-complicated mind trying to figure out what this meant-if it meant anything at all that is. And he was sure either way she'd make sure of every possible scenario before committing to just one. 

The blond seemed oblivious or just plain uncaring to their silent wariness, however, as she skipped nonchalantly forward. Running a hand through his frustratingly tangled hair, he tilted his head at the girl. "Think everyone we meet out here is going to be like her?" Neville asked from behind him. 

Blinking, Harry stared at the girl a bit longer, thinking over the possibilities. "I hope not." he replied softly. It wasn't that she wasn't nice. Just...peculiar is all. And he wasn't equipped to deal with peculiar just yet. Though, he'd admittedly rather have the former than irrational, or angry. 

Like the girl had said, they were heading towards the river. At least, that's what Harry heard a few more minutes into walking. It didn't sound too distant, which made Harry wonder if their hearing was that bad or hers amazingly brilliant. Either way, at least he'd be clean and hopefully able to quench his thirst soon. There's only so much water per bottle of course. And Hermione hadn't the room to pack many in the first place.

He knew the river had to wait, however, when he saw Ron stumbling sideways as he walked. And Harry couldn’t help but think of how he wouldn’t have as much trouble holding the boy if the redhead hadn’t tried to walk fast and proudly. Biting his lip momentarily, he wondered how to go about imposing a small break for them to catch their breath. Or really, for Ron to catch himself before he fell over onto the ground beneath him.

It was time to rid himself of some of his pride, then. “Ron, Hermione, can we stop soon? Just for a bit?”

“If we must.” Hermione answered quickly. He knew she probably needed to take a moment as well, given how she wasn’t as good at cardio as the rest of them. Judging from the way she almost immediately sat down cross-legged on the grass, he knew he was right.

Ron looked as if he was about to argue, but looking back and seeing Hermione already sitting down had his entire defensive demeanor changed. “Okay.” he agreed then, picking a spot to sit the boy on his back.

Harry met with him to help him lay the boy down on the forest floor easily. The most difficulty with the task lied in the many wounds covering the blonde’s exterior. Even though he was unconscious, Harry hated jostling the boy more the necessary. He wondered when he would finally awaken. Or even if.

Shaking himself from the thoughts, and trying to tell himself he didn’t need to worry over a stranger so much, he wrapped the cloak more firmly around the figure. “Any idea where the rest of his clothes are?” he pondered aloud.

The girl shook her head from where she stood. “The nargles must have taken them.” she stated sadly.

Harry could only make a humming sound back, unsure what to think about the ‘nargles’ the girl kept mentioning. Looking past their undefined name, he found himself asking if maybe the cultural difference of living in forests versus living in a castle caused a difference of naming to occur. Perhaps nargles were other werewolves? Okay, even he doubted that one but, it was a possibility. And the more they found out about here, the better.

He sat beside Hermione, who rationed some bottled water around. “How far do you think we are?”

Hermione took a gulp of water for herself before answering. “From Hogwarts? Or from the river?”

“Both, now that I think of it.”

She hummed, shifting to a more comfortable position in thought. “I’d say we’re a few miles from Hogwarts, but there’s no way to be certain. We traveled pretty aimlessly for awhile, and then after she came, I lost track of direction.” she pointed out. “Possibly not even half a mile from the river.” 

He nodded, remembering the non-werewolves they’d almost crossed paths with before. He himself had been trying to track where they went and directions they took, but in the frenzy had lost complete track of it all. The fright had only left him with thoughts of getting away, not of where to go to do so.

They sat still for a couple minutes, during which time each went into their own thoughts. Harry only woke from his mind as the girl and Neville joined him. He looked into the blonde’s eyes steadily, watching the glassy gaze for a second. “What do you suppose we call you?” he found himself asking.

She gave a questioning look at that. To which he responded, “We can’t go on calling you ‘the girl’ or ‘her’ forever.” he stated.

“Why not?” A puzzled gaze met his own.

“I’d prefer not to,” he replied. “Thought you’d like being called something else.” he added then.

“Hm, I don’t have any names to give you.” she replied truthfully.

Neville looked at them both, “You said something about the-the moon earlier?” he asked. “What about Moongirl?”

Harry stifled a laugh at that, covering his mouth with a hand and pretending to cough instead.

“Sure.” ‘Moongirl’ said simply. Harry shook his head at that, about to tell them to think of something less…weird, when Moongirl interrupted him. “I like it.” she assured, smiling now. “It’s a pretty name.”

And the odd scale tipped a bit more in her favor. “Moongirl it is then!” Harry proclaimed, willing to go along with them for the moment. Neville grinned at the group, clearly happy someone liked his idea.

Hermione was luckily close enough to Ron to nudge him harshly with a leg before he said something stupid aloud. She was good at sensing it as he’d already opened his mouth to speak when she kicked him. “Ow!”

Hermione ignore him in favor of standing to stretch her muscles. “I never believed Ms. Hooch when she told me I needed to exercise more often. I mean, when would I need those skills if I’m only able to be domestic after school?”

Harry followed her example as Moongirl watched them with a tilted head. “What is ‘school?’”

Hermione gaped. And Harry can proudly say he didn’t remark on the gesture. This time at least. As Hermione tried to explain school, and then classes as Moongirl just looked more confused after she stated the word, Harry walked to the boy.

Checking for open wounds, he used the now-dry cloth he’d used before to dab at the open ones. He knew they’d most likely get infected, but he could only hope they wouldn’t be too bad. Looking at the boxers the boy wore, he wondered if he had more clothes in the first place. Thinking back, he didn’t see any in the area they found him in-not that he’d been looking for any.

Looking at ’Moongirl’ as she went by now, he looked down to her clothing. Not in the best shape, dirty, but still. She wore clothes. Not savage ones or even none at all like his teachers had taught him werewolves on the outside wore. Did they have a town of their own? Maybe unmarked with only an alpha and no government? Did they make clothing there? Food? Were there small families or one pack? He had so many questions unanswered that his brain was dizzy with them.

He was taken from his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder. Ron’s hand to be exact, he noticed without looking. He knew it was Ron just by the feel and it being the nearest scent to him. “Ready to go?”

“I suppose.” he agreed. Then, looking at the boy below him. “I can carry him this time.”

Ron patted the shoulder under his hand before leaning down to Harry’s sitting height. “Not necessary.” he said. “Besides, you might not be able to carry him.”

“I’m not weak,” Harry stated then.

“No, but you’re scrawny and he’s-”

“Thirteen stone?” Harry finished for him.

Ron shrugged in response, hand disappearing from his shoulder to lift the blond. Harry helped him begrudgingly, noticing how lithe the boy was as he helped lift the figure onto Ron’s back safely. Pulling the arms into a locked position over Ron’s shoulders, he gave the redhead a measured look, “I’ll carry him later then.”

Turning, he helped Neville to a standing position while Moongirl danced around them both. He honestly didn’t know where she found the energy, but thinking on it he realized it must be because she was so used to physical exertion. And probably used to sleeping on the bare forest floor-as she’d refused leaves for comfort the night before. (Something about their being much to crunchy for a sound sleep.)

They marched along again, taking in the wondrous sounds of nature that they’d only heard of through their teachers. Some were familiar with the back gardens of the school-birds, frogs, the wind’s rustling of surrounding foliage. But some sounds they’d never heard before-sudden squawks, hissing snakes, the light footsteps of various running creatures. They even heard prey being attacked. Advanced hearing from their wolf side they were used to already. But hearing so much at once and so nearby was unsettling.

Neville once again walked in the backmost part of the group. He was accompanied by the stranger girl, who proceeded to talk to him about plants. Neville, being a master of herbology, gladly joined with his own remarks. Ahead, Hermione joined Ron, talking animatedly about the nature surrounding them. Harry stayed in the middle, thinking to himself while trying not to eavesdrop too much on the conversations in front of and behind him.

The brush cleared soon enough, revealing a wondrous sight. Never before had rocks been so beautiful-glistening under sunlight and bursts of running water as it sloped downward into the lake below. The water’s pressure wasn’t so hard as to keep the water below it in rushing waves. It was smooth; subtle almost like a stream except larger. The pool of water below it shimmered under the sunlight. And as Harry approached it, he could see through the top to the pebble-covered bottom. A clearness he didn’t know existed in wildlife’s water shown up at him.

Touching the water with a hand, he was surprisingly pulled back by Ron. He sighed as the boy sniffed around. “There’s nobody here.” he said.

Still, he stayed where he was as Ron searched around the area, not bothering to ask if he would put the boy down already. Hermione joined him, arms crossed and watching. Moongirl, however, hummed to herself, fingers threading through her hair. Neville was still standing closer to the forest’s edge, unmoving.

A moment later they were ’approved’ to go about what they were doing before. Instead of continuing his gauging of the water, however, Harry moved to help lay the blond teen down in a safe place not too far from the water nor too close. Ensuring there were no rocks underneath his body, Harry gently unwrapped the cloak.

A splash had him looking back in amusement as Moongirl jumped into the water. It took him a moment later to realize she was still fully-clothed. Shaking his head, he didn’t have to look back to see Hermione’s exasperated expression nor Neville’s amused one. He knew Ron just thought she was ‘nutters’ and as such was trying to ignore her as much as he could.

Speaking of Ron, “Go on,” Harry nudged, “I’ll only be a minute.” The shadow over him faded as the redhead nodded his consent.

He heard Hermione shout something to the redhead about not pushing her in the water before he heard a splash. He looked back and couldn’t resist laughing this time as he saw the drenched and blushing redhead argue with Hermione. He knew from experience not to so much as threaten to do anything to Hermione. She doesn’t play around like that.

Another shadow fell over him and he looked up, still unused to the scent the girl exuded. “Yes?” he asked Moongirl.

Her wide gaze blinked at him, looking down his figure at where his hands were pressing against untouched skin. She shrugged in response, decided to sit down next to him. Instead of asking anything more, he got to work on the wounds. Taking his cloth, he leaned over to dab it into the shallow end of the river. As gently he could, he ran it over the dried blood hoping to get rid of it all.

“You’re very gentle for a stranger.” she said suddenly.

Looking up, Harry met her gaze for only a second before continuing what he was doing. “He hasn’t given me a reason not to be yet.”

“And what if when he wakes up he’s mean?”

“Then I give him the wounds all-over again.” Harry said with an amused voice. He grinned widely at that, then, “How’d you know my name?”

“Hm?” she sounded.

“Last night, you called me-”

“Harry Potter?”

“Yeah.”

“Wrackspurts can do more than make you dizzy, Harry. They’re good at holding information as well. They told me your name.” She said this as if it was a casual thing to mention, but Harry didn’t think so one bit.

  
“Moongirl…” And if calling her  _that_  didn’t deteriorate the conversation’s seriousness, Hermione’s laughing in the background sure did. He sighed, dabbing the cloth in water again. “What about everything else you said?” he asked, unsure how to even phrase his confusion about her insinuations. “Truth coming to light? Revelations near?”  


“We can only find out what the words mean, later, Harry. I thought you knew that.”

  
Harry wanted to question her further, to understand her better. But really, he didn’t know what to say or how to phrase any of it. Not to mention her confusion at it all. And the way she didn’t understand how what she said was odd and a bit…foreboding at that. He shook his head. “I don’t  _know_  anything about that.” he insisted still.  


“With time you will.” she assured, getting up from her place next to him. “I think I shall join the others now.” she said. “Maybe get Neville to join. It is fun, after all. You should go too.”

“In a minute,” he assured, watching her wave lightly at him as she walked towards where Neville sat huddled on his own.

Rubbing off the rest of the blood, he noticed a serious wound underneath. The hole was deep, and had Harry wondering how it’d gotten there. Fearing for infection, Harry took off his over shirt and wrapped it around the blonde’s middle, tying the arms in a knot to tighten it. Wrapping the cloak around the form, he felt the blonde’s head. Warm. Sighing, he knew there was nothing more he could do.

Behind him, he heard the Neville and Moongirl laughing. Smiling at the sound of his friend having some fun, he finally decided to join as well. Besides, he really hadn’t lied earlier. He stunk, wilderness and hygiene not going together well. He didn’t bother pulling off his clothes, only his shoes, knowing they needed the washing anyway, before diving into the deeper area of the river.

Cold, wet, yet exactly what his frazzled; aching body needed. Swimming upwards, his head peeked from the top of the water, gasping for the air now surrounding it. He rubbed his head, pushing back the drenched hair from his eyes.  And through all the showers and soaps and cleanly toiletries he wish he had still-he felt clean. Much cleaner than before. Hands rubbed at his skin under the water, easier for his tank-top clad torso than his pants-clad bottom. Rubbing some at the patches of dirt on his clothes, he swam to the edge to take them off if only for their hindrance to his swimming abilities.

He exchanged a look with a disproving Hermione as he stepped out, drenched clothes almost falling off him with their newfound weight. He gave Hermione a sheepish look back before peeling off his clothing one layer at a time. Boxers-only now, he swam back out to enjoy the water to its fullest. The cool liquid embraced him this time, practically pulling him to its middle where the water was fullest.

He watched Moongirl and Neville splash each other, inwardly surprised at Neville’s outgoing behavior with the girl. Meanwhile Ron and Hermione had finished with their own splash contest and were swimming lazily together, talking about nothing in particular.

Happy to see everyone getting along, he floated then, his legs kicking to push him around the water’s whole lazily. He closed his eyes, body embracing the water’s hug around his body happily. The sunlight hit the top of him, warmth meeting the coolness around his other side for the perfect mixture.

And there, in the middle of the water is where he felt calm enough to open his senses completely. He felt the concentration flow through him for a calm release. His ears opened, nostrils flared, as his mind centered on the nature around him. Moongirl floated into his thoughts, strangely enough. And he couldn’t help but think that maybe this is how she heard normally. Without the trying and pushing forth the senses-they were just there. He never really realized how much he blocked out on a day-to-day basis until he stopped for a moment and dug deep like this. 

He knew, deep down, that Hogwarts probably muddled the senses in a way. There was simply no need for them there. They didn’t hunt or fight. There was no present danger other than teenage hormones.

Harry didn’t know how much time had passed until he was woken from his passive state very suddenly by a noise he didn’t think he’d hear in the middle of the day. A howl. Not just any howl either. It was angry, and it chilled him to the core with its strength. Startled, he fell from his floating position, body starting harshly. Swimming back upward, he coughed out water that had tried to choke him on his way down.

“Harry!”

Looking over to his left, he watched a worry-ridden Hermione swimming to where he was. He managed to give her a winded, “’m fine!” before swimming towards shore. He heard her following, behind, the faint splashes giving her every move away.

Near shore, he stumbled on the pebbles digging into his feet, the tiny and big mix of rocks pushing against his already-tender skin in a way that had him groaning aloud. He picked a spot away from the rocks, faintly noting the others coming to where he was. Hermione met him first.

“Harry, are you okay? What happened back there? I saw you just get pulled under an-”

“Hermione.” he interrupted. “I’m fine. Breathe. I swam back here, didn‘t I?”

Hermione gave him a frustrated half-hearted glare before taking a deep breath as instructed. She didn’t get a chance to say more before Ron interrupted them both. He was already muttering under his breath as he approached, and continued as he sat down to join their small gathering.

Harry gave a half-smile at the words, “…shouldn’t stay in water too long. Dunno why I didn’t…” He gave Hermione a nudge with his elbow, knowing she’d get the message. Sure enough, she leaned over to hug the redhead.

Shocked, Ron stopped his ramblings immediately. His mouth chose instead to occupy itself with gaping. He looked to Harry for help on what to do, eyes wide with a panic he hadn’t known before. Harry shrugged in turn, rolling his eyes at Ron’s clueless expression. He mouthed, “Catching flies.” at him instead and watched a faint redness approach from the other’s neck as his mouth slammed shut.

Neville sat down with them without saying a word and for that Harry sent him a grateful smile. He could almost forget the loud howl that had filled the night-overriding every sound in the forest except for it. There was a strange sense of danger with it though. Of what would happen should he find the owner.

Moongirl broke his thoughts, “You heard him, didn’t you?” she asked in her airy voice. Harry heard the others shifting around him. He nodded reluctantly. She smiled. “I believe then, that we should begin heading towards him before the moon is full.”

Harry shook his head, “You know him?”

She nodded, “Like from a dream.”

“The person who howled, he’s who exactly?”

“I believe I know him. Or knew him before.” she answered.

Harry crossed his arms, palms tightening around his upper arms. The air was warm but mixed with the cool water suddenly not surrounding his body anymore, he was freezing. Ron looked confused while Hermione frustrated. He knew Ron was probably thinking over how silly she sounded and Hermione was thinking over how false she believed her statements to be. Neville however, ignored them both for once.

"We'll start going in his direction tomorrow then." he stated, eyes more determined than Harry had ever seen them. The boy stumbled on the pebbles below as he walked up to Moongirl, making all the seriousness he mentioned have little affect once more. 

Moongirl didn't laugh, as Harry expected her to do given the circumstances-instead she smiled warmly at the nervous-again boy. "Thank you." she said, surprising him once more.

Harry rubbed the back of his neck while he watched Neville give a half-formed response covered in stutters that had even Neville himself wincing in sympathy. Moongirl either didn't notice or didn't care as she continued to smile. In fact, it grew with the now-muttered words. 

Feeling as if he were intruding at this point, Harry looked over to Hermione and Ron to see their sweet moment ruined by Ron's apparent fumbling. He wasn't even sure how Ron could do something to mess up Hermione's good mood. Alas, it appeared he had, and Hermione wasn't going to let anything slide past her. 

 

Sighing, bright green eyes scanned his surroundings. The sun began its dissent overhead while most of the animals in the forest surrounding them calmed for sleep. The nightlife had yet to begin, but it was only a matter of time. Harry's eyes drifted from the forest to the blond laying on the ground in his sleep-like state. 

 

If the rise and fall of the blonde's chest was any indication, he would live another day. But, Harry hoped that day would be spent awake next time. He found himself walking toward the body, the voices of his friends and sorta-friend fading behind him some as he walked toward the teen lying comfortably nearby. 

 

Squatting, he checked the boy's head again. A slight warmth hit his palm still. Yet he grew unsure if that meant he still  had a fever or if he was warmer than Harry was-given the raven haired boy had been in chilly water for who-knows how long. 

 

He thumbed the forehead, wondering if people were supposed to take so long before waking. He hadn't had too many occurrences in the hospital wing at school. Well, enough to warrant his own bed but not enough to warrant his own knowledge of comatose patients.  _Was he in a coma? Isn't that what it was called when someone wouldn't respond like this?_ He supposed Hermione would've already thought of the implications of such, knowing her it would've been impossible not to have done so already.   


He exhaled before standing up, arms crossing over his bare still-wet and now extremely cold chest as he stood. Looking down, he could see some smaller droplets of icy water making their way down his goosebump-ladden skin. For some reason the reminder of how chilled he was only amplified his want for warmth. He cleared his throat, approaching a still-arguing Ron and Hermione. Hermione looked away from the redhead, eyes still fierce in their state of anger. They calmed at seeing Harry though, who gave a sheepish grin in her direction. Looking him up and down once, the eyes proclaimed her disapproval even as she looked for something to cover him with. 

 

Ron all but tried to tiptoe away at this distraction, tried being the keyword as Hermione-who had yet to look in his direction-said, "Ronald Weasley, I am  _not_ through with you yet." 

 

Reddened face met Harry's highly amused one as Harry shrugged in return. Harry was about to go look for any sort of cover when a stirring from behind him had him starting in place. Turning along with the others who'd apparently heard the same movements, he looked at the source. 

 

The boy moved, just briefly. His finger twitching as his head turned slightly to the left. A small sound, almost like a whine exited the blonde's throat, cracked pale lips opening just barely as the sound emitted. Harry found himself walking over to the boy, a disgruntled and now highly-alert Ron just behind him. Just as he reached him, eyelids opened fully at once, revealing the pale blue eyes of the blond. A gasp sounded, the sudden action combined with Ron's hyper-awareness caused the redhead to place a hand on Harry's upper arm to stop him from moving any closer. 

 

  


 

 

  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End of Chapter. What an ending eh? Yeah, I hate me too. Especially since this chapter was completed months ago and I forgot that I hadn't posted it yet. I'm seriously sorry guys, I didn't mean to do that. And here I was so excited about picking this fic back up again. Also, this is unedited/unbeta'd so if you see any errors just let me know!
> 
> -Animegrl421-


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